REVIEW: Honor Reclaimed by Tonya Burrows

Former Marine sniper Seth Harlan is determined to prove that he can still do his job despite his ongoing battle with PTSD. When an old friend contacts HORNET to rescue a black ops soldier, Seth's stability is strained. He knows all too well what it's like to rot inside an enemy camp, praying for rescue and waiting for death. And he's not about to leave a man behind.

Photojournalist Phoebe Leighton just stumbled into the middle of an arms deal. Teaming up with a ragtag team of mercenaries is the last thing she wants to do--especially when she realizes Seth Harlan is assigned to the mission. He may ignite a passion in her she thought long dead, but Phoebe's hiding a secret that could destroy him.

With a bomb in the mix, HORNET's mission is suddenly about a lot more than an abandoned soldier. Racing against the clock, Seth, Phoebe, and the rest of the team struggle to stop a ruthless warlord bent on power, revenge...and death.

Buy Links: Entangled Publishing / GoodReads / Amazon 

Author: Tonya Burrows

Adri's Review:

I would first off like to thank Tonya Burrows for providing us with a review copy of this book for us to read. 

This review is one of those that are so hard to write not because you didn't enjoy the book, but because you enjoyed it so much you don't know where to start. We are briefly introduced to Seth in the first book of this series Seal of Honor, but all we know about him then is how he's got a past and no one wants to work with him. In this book Honor Reclaimed we find out what that past is and WHY he is so haunted by it. 

Maybe because I now have friends who are deployed in Afghanistan or because I have learned in the last six months or so how much harder the life of a man in uniform is when they are away from home, but with this book I found myself so much more attached to Seth. I was able to relate him to someone I know personally, (actually it happened with a couple of the characters) and was aching to help him, hug him and take his pain away. I found myself crying along with not only Seth but Phoebe as well. 

Phoebe has to learn a hard lesson before she can forgive herself, but she is such a strong character, one that makes it a pleasure to read. She is also willing to put herself at risk for those things she believes in and loves. She took a lesson from life and used it to turn her life around to a more positive place. Again I attribute this to how well written the character is. 

Tonya Burrows did such a fantastic job with this book, I can't wait to see what else she can bring us in the future in the HORNET series.

Happy Reading... Adri 

Seal of Honor (HORNET #1) by Tonya Burrows & Giveaway!!!

SEAL of Honor

 (HORNET Book #1)

​It’s a good thing Gabe Bristow lives and breathes the Navy SEAL credo, “the only easy day was yesterday,” because today, his life is unrecognizable. When his prestigious career comes to a crashing halt, he’s left with a bum leg and few prospects for employment that don’t include a desk.

That is, until he’s offered the chance to command a private hostage rescue team and free a wealthy American businessman from Colombian paramilitary rebels. It seems like a good deal—until he meets his new team: a drunk Cajun linguist, a boy-genius CIA threat analyst, an FBI negotiator with mob ties, a cowboy medic, and an EOD expert as volatile as the bombs he defuses. Oh, and who could forget the sexy, frustratingly impulsive Audrey Van Amee? She’s determined to help rescue her brother—or drive Gabe crazy. Whichever comes first.

As the death toll rises, Gabe’s team of delinquents must figure out how to work together long enough to save the day. Or, at least, not get themselves killed. Because Gabe’s finally found something worth living for, and God help him if he can’t bring her brother back alive.

Buy Links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes

 

Sarah's Review:

I want to start by saying thank you to Tonya Burrows for the signed copy I won through a giveaway!  It looks great on my bookshelf with other fabulous authors.  I do love signed copies!!  I truly hope this story gets the credit it deserves.  I had to read once I read the blurb, even though the title is what drew me in.  Well, the cover did too!  If you enjoyed Lori Foster's Men Who Walk the Edge of Honor series, then this is a book for you to read.  

From the first chapter of this story, Gabe Bristow had me drawn to him.  Former Navy SEAL, who was discharged due to a major injury as the result of an accident, is getting ready for his retirement party when we first meet him.  Then we meet Raffi, Gabe's brother, who comes to see if Gabe is ready and do what most brothers do, interfere with something.  I LOVE Raffi.  He is comfortable in in own skin and with who he is, even if their Admiral father isn't.  Raffi basically tells Gabe to take Quinn's, Gabe's teammate, offer for a different job since Gabe would not be happy with a desk job.  Quinn, oh Quinn, don't you know Gabe will get you for getting Raffi involved?  

Audrey Van Amee is the sister of man kidnapped in the beginning of the story.  She was on the phone with her brother when he was taken.  When she decides to go looking for her brother on her own, she comes into contact with a member of Gabe's team.  Not knowing that he is one of the good guys, she freaks and tries to run.  She runs alright, right smack into Gabe.  She screams and can't hear Gabe tell her that he is one of the good guys, so he knocks her out without hurting her.  When she wakes up, she wonders if she was also abducted, then she begins to realize that she is actually safe and not with the bad guys.  

I loved how Audrey was able to become an asset to Gabe and his team.  She knows how to speak Spanish and much to Gabe's dislike, was helpful when it came to Gabe and Audrey being taken by the EPC.  During their captivity, one of the bad guys that Gabe was going after before he was injured, ended up saving them from the other group.  When he realizes that Mena and Liam Miller are the ones that "rescued" them from the other bad guys, Gabe has to work with Mena to save Audrey's brother.  As a result, the information that Mena gives them, Audrey's brother is located and found alive.  

The chemistry that Gabe and Audrey was hard to miss.  Gabe fought hard to fight his feelings for Audrey but Audrey is able to convince Gabe to give into her feelings.  He believes that she is only feeling like this because of the situation.  Once they find Audrey's brother, Gabe leaves without saying anything to her. 

Fast forward a month, Quinn shows up one night and tells Gabe like it is.  Quinn hit Gabe where it counts the most, his pride.  Gabe goes to find Audrey.  While Gabe is there, we find out who was behind her brother's kidnapping.  

I can't wait to see where Tonya Burrows takes the other members of the team.

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